Ugly or 'artistic,' Noah's offense picks up

Bulls center averaging 16.2 points, NBA-high 14.2 rebounds a game

Last summer, long before the Carmelo Anthony rumors grew overstated, Joakim Noah spent hours at the Berto Center, working on post moves and his jumper with coach Tom Thibodeau.

Noah obviously never will be a dynamic, go-to scorer like Anthony. But he's also no longer an offensive liability, going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line and knocking down three long-range jumpers during his career-high 26 points on Friday night in Boston.

"Quite honestly, he hasn't (surprised me)," Thibodeau said following Sunday's practice. "I saw him shoot all summer. Consistently, he knocked that shot down. My thing was, as long as he's working on it that hard and it's going in, I don't have a problem with him shooting it as long as he's open. It looks a little different, but it goes in."

Indeed, Noah's unorthodox shot, humorously nicknamed "The Tornado" by assistant coach Ron Adams during Noah's rookie season, is a sideways-spinning affair sprung from a low release that never will be confused by Anthony's sweet form.

"But if you watch the final phase, it's actually pretty good," Thibodeau said. "Where he finishes, he has good follow through, good extension. He's very accurate."

Or, as Noah said with a smile: "A lot of people say it's ugly. I like to think it's artistic."

Noah has posted five straight double-doubles, leads the NBA with 14.2 rebounds per game and is shooting 54.5 percent while averaging 16.2 points. At this rate, defenses no longer will be able to sag off Noah.

"To me, there's nothing better than making a 15-footer because a lot of people told me my whole life that I wouldn't be able to shoot it," Noah said. "So it feels great knocking it down.

"I don't want players to play off me, so I worked pretty hard with Thibodeau in the offseason. I feel pretty confident. Derrick (Rose) is getting a lot of attention, so it's on me and Taj (Gibson) to make a play when they get the ball out of his hands."

Management made Noah off limits in their exploratory talks with the Nuggets regarding Anthony because of his energy, defense and rebounding. His offense is merely gravy.

"He's a lot more confident in his jump shot," Thibodeau said. "From 16-17 feet, he can shoot it. If you close hard on him, he can blow by you. His jump hook game is very effective inside. He's active on the offensive boards. He knows how to move without the ball. He's running the floor great. So he's scoring in different ways."

So is Anthony, one of the league's premier scorers. The All-Star forward is currently tied with Kobe Bryant for seventh at 24.7 points per game, two behind Rose, who is at 25 ppg.

"He's a load," Thibodeau said of Anthony. "He can really shoot it. He's very effective in pick-and-roll. He can post up. He's unselfish. He's very dangerous in transition. So he puts a lot of pressure on your defense."

Layups: Carlos Boozer participated in some non-contact portions of practice but still can't handle the ball. "He can do some running up and down, closeouts," Thibodeau said. "So that's encouraging." . . . Thibodeau said he had no issue with Rose waiting until roughly 4 seconds remained before starting his drive on the final possession of regulation in Friday's overtime loss to the Celtics. He said doing so limits opponents' ability to rebound a miss and advance the ball with a timeout and also loose-ball fouls on offensive rebounds. ... Thibodeau appreciated the video tribute the Celtics aired for him and Brian Scalabrine. "I didn't even see it, but everyone told me about it," he said. "They're a first-class organization." ... Asked about critics he vaguely referred to in a defiant postgame quote Friday night, Noah said "just certain players" have been talking trash about the Bulls but also called it "nothing out of the usual."